Stocking



Sept. 1, 1959 P. BAKER STOCKING Filed July 16, 1956 INVENTOR PAUL BAKER BY ATTORNEYS.

2,901,901 STOCKING Paul Baker, Atlanta, Ga., assignor' to Julius Kayser & Co., New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Application July 16, 1956, Serial No. 597,906

2 Claims. (Cl. 66-178) My invention relates to a new and improved article of hosiery, which is suitable for use by men, women or children. For convenience, the article is described as a stocking.

1 According to my invention, I can provide an article ofhosiery whose leg extends substantially to the knee of the user to provide a knee-length stocking, and which is self-supporting upon the leg Without requiring any attached-garter.

It is well known to provide a stocking which has a horizontally elastic top, which is intended to keep the article in position, without using a separate garter. Such an elastic top is shown, for example, in Davis US. Patent No. 2,095,924, dated October 12, 1937.

, These elastic tops do not hold the leg of the knee-length stocking firmly in position, so that the leg of the stocking slips down and forms wrinkles.

It is also known to make a stocking with a leg which is made of elastic yarn, so that the entire leg of the stocking has a two-way vertical and horizontal stretch, and it is even known to provide such a stocking-leg with such elastic top. In such case, when such stocking is worn, the vertical tension throughout the entire height of the leg of the stocking causes said stocking-leg to slip down and form wrinkles.

Also, the horizontal elasticity of the leg of the stocking,below the calf-portion of said leg, produces an uncomfortable grip.

According to my invention, I provide a stocking whose leg has an elastic top-zone above the calf of the leg of the user, and close to the knee of the user; an intermediate calf-zone or calf-portion which has two-way stretch and elasticity, and a bottom leg-Zone which is non-elastic. The foot of the stocking may be any type. The leg of the stocking is seamless and weft-knitted.

The stocking may or may notbe ribbed. I

The weft-knitted leg of the stocking may be-knitted in the usual circular machine, by rotary motion of said machine.

One embodiment of my invention is disclosed in the drawings and description.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved stocking, showing the zones of its leg.

Fig. 2 diagrammatically shows the body yarn and the plating yarn which are used in the highly preferred embodiment, in order to knit the horizontally and vertically stretchable and elastic calf-section or calf-zone of the stocking leg.

In Fig. 1, the top zone or section A is horizontally stretchable and elastic. For this purpose, the top section A can be knitted with any usual combination of elastic and non-elastic yarns. Various types of said top section A are Well known and require no description. One type is shown in said Davis U.S. Patent No. 2,095,924.

In use, this top section A is located above the calf of the leg of the user. As one example, the total height of the leg of the improved stocking, including its top sec- Patented Sept. 1, 1959 tion A, may be 18.5 inches. In such case the height of the top section A is about 1.75 inches.

Immediately below the top section A, there is an intermediate zone or calf-section B, Which is dimensioned to generally cover the calf of the leg of the user. In this example, the height of this section B is about five inches. In the preferred embodiment, this section B has a nonelastic plating yarn and an elastic body yarn.

The elastic body yarn of sectionB is preferably of the type designated as Helenca in pages 229-331 of The New Fibers by Sherman & Sherman, published in 1946 by D. Van Nostrand Company, Inc. This Helenca is a crimped synthetic yarn, which is stretchable and elastic. The elastic yarn may be made of various types of rayon, nylon, and other synthetic materials. Another stretchable and elastic yarn, Which I can use as a body yarn in knitting calf-zone B, is known as Fluflion.

The non-elastic plating yarn used in combination With said body yarn in knitting section B may be made of worsted, Wool, cotton, and other materials.

The plating operation in weft-knitting is Well-known and does not require any specific illustration. It is disclosed, for example, in pages 222-225 of Principles of Knitting by Max C. Miller, published in 1931 by Mc- Graw-I-Iill Book Company, Inc.

As a general description of the plating method, a body yarn and a plating yarn are fed simultaneously at the same feed of the knitting machine, to all of the knitting needles, so that the resultant weft knitted fabric has the body yarn exposed at one face of said weft-knitted fabric and the plating yarn is exposed at the other face of said fabric. The plating yarn is subjected to more tension than the body yarn. I follow usual plating practice.

Theplated calf-section B of the leg of the stocking has both vertical and horizontal stretch and elasticity, due to its elastic body yarn. The non-elastic plating yarn is exposed at the outer face of the calf-section B.

The bottom section C of the Weft-knitted leg of the improved stocking is knitted Wholly with non-elastic yarn, such as the non-elastic yarn which is used as the plating yarn in calf-section B, or a non-elastic yarn of any type.

In knitting the two-way stretch, plated section B, the knitting machine has a single feeding station with two yarn-feeding fingers, one for feeding the elastic body yarn, the other for feeding the non-elastic plating yarn. In knitting said section B, an elastic body yarn and a non-elastic face yarn or plating yarn are fed to each needle in each course, in each operation of each knitting needle.

In knitting the non-elasticbottom section C, the feed of the elastic body yarn to the knitting needles is discontinued, and only the non-elastic plating yarn or another non-elastic yarn is fed to the knitting needles.

e non-elastic plating yarn of section B is preferably heavier and thicker than the elastic body yarn of section B. Thus, as one example, the elastic body yarn of section B has two ends, each of denier, corresponding to a total thickness of 200 denier.

The plating yarn of section B may be a single No. 24 worsted yarn, according to the U.S.A. system, so that it is thicker and heavier than the elastic body yarn of section B.

Fig. 2 diagrammatically shows the front non-elastic plating yarn P and the rear elastic body yarn E in section B.

It is preferred to knit the non-elastic bottom section C with a non-elastic yarn which has the same appearance as the plating yarn P of section B, for uniformity of appearance.

When the stocking is in fiat form, as when it is laid flat on a table, in doubled and unstretched form, the

horizontal diameter of said flat, doubled form is designated as the normal unstretohed diameter of the stocking. If the calf-portion B were made wholly of elastic body yarn B, said calf-portion would have excessive horizontal stretch. By using a relatively thick and nonelastic plating yarn? in knitting the calf-portion B, and feeding said plating yarn P to each of the knittingneedles in knitting said calf-portion B, and also feeding said plating yarn P under greater tension than the elastic body-yarn E, I limit the horizontal stretclr of said calfporticn B to substantially twice its normal fiat diameter, thus preventing excessive and undesirable horizontal stretch in calf-portion B. This provides a'better frictional grip at the calf of the leg of the user. The vertical stretch of section B is also limited. 1 The stocking-leg does not slip down, and it rem" s free from wrinkles.

Much less preferably, and as a much inferior method and construction, the plating yarn may be omitted in knitting the two-way stretch calf-section B, and intertwistecl elastic and non-elastic yarns can be fed to the needles in knitting calf-Section B, which is weft-knitted. In such case, the respective intertwisted elastic and nonelastic can be o f the above-mentioned type and relative thickness and weight. In such case, the knitting of the two-Way stretch calf-section B is by the well-known knitting machine. In such case, only one feed is used in the knitting machine. The non-elastic yarn is twisted helically around the elastic yarn. Therefore the total straight length of the non-elastic yarn is greater than the length of the elastic yarn. In the resultant weft-knitted section B, the elastic yarn is relaxed, and it is stretchable within the length of the helically wound non-elastic yarn, which also serves to limit the horizontal stretch in section B. In such case, the non-elastic yarn has three to four helical turns per inch of the straight length of the elastic yarn. In this example, the bottom section C is knitted solely of non-elastic yarn of the same type and appearance which is used in helically twisted form as part of the yarn which is used in knitting section B.v 1

This limitation of horizontal and vertical stretch in section B is provided in both embodiments.

The relative dimensions of theimproved stocking-leg will depend on the respective size.

In general, for each respective size, the stocking-leg is shaped and dimensioned to provide a horizontally elastic and leg-gripping top-Zone; an intermediate vertically and horizontally elastic calf-gripping calf-zone; and a lower non-elastic zone which extends to or close tothe bottom of the leg of the user.

In each embodiment, the non-elastic yarn in the calfzone limits the horizontal stretch of the calf-zone to a maximum of seventy-five percent of the maximum stretch of the elastic yarn in the calf-zone. That is, in the second embodiment, the elastic yarn is relaxed when the stocking is ofl? the leg of the user, and its stretch on the leg is thus controlled.

When I refer to non-elastic yarn, this is not limited to yarns which are wholly non-stretchable or non-elastic. Such yarn may have some stretch, but if used alone, it cannot provide the frictional grip at the calf of the leg of the user, in order to prevent the stocking-leg from 4 slipping down and wrinkling. I use the term non-elastic in the claims, as thus defined, in order to avoid being limited to a non-elastic yarn which is wholly non-stretchable. However, even if the lower zone has some stretch or elasticity, any vertical tension in said lower zone is less than the frictional grip of the zone B, which is applied to the entire calf of the user or to a sufiicient part thereof, in order to prevent downward slipping and resultant wrinkling of the stocking-leg.

I claim:

1. A stocking which extends wholly below the knee and has a weft-knitted stocking-leg, said stocking-leg beingshaped and dimensioned to provide a top horizontally elastic and leg-gripping garter zone above the calf of the user, and an intermediate vertically and horizontally elastic calf-gripping calf-zone which is shaped to overlie the calf of the leg of the user, and a lower nonelastic zone which extends substantially to: the bottom of the leg of the user, said elastic calf-zone consisting of inner elastic body yarn and outer substantially non-elastic plating yarn which is heavier and thicker than saidinner elastic yarn and covers said inner elastic body yarn, said outer non-elastic plating yarn limiting the horizontal stretch of said inner elastic body yarn to a maximum of substantially twice the normal flat diameter of said calfzone, all the yarn of said lower zone being non-elastic and being said plating yarn, said plating yarn being knit in said calf-zone under greater tension than said elastic yarn.

2. A stocking which extends wholly below the knee of the user and has a weft-knitted stocking-leg, said stocking-leg being shaped and dimensioned to provide a horizontally elastic and leg-gripping zone above the calf of the user, and an intermediate vertically and horizontally elastic calf-gripping calf-zone which is shaped to'overlie the calf of the leg of theuser, and a lower non-elastic zone which extends substantially to the bottom of the leg of the user, said elastic calf-zone having inner elastic body yarn and a surface plating yarn which is thicker and heavier than said elastic body yarn, said plating yarn being exposed and covering said inner elastic body yarn, 'said outer-non-elastic plating yarn limiting the horizontal stretch of said inner elastic body yarn to a maximum of substantially twice the normal flat diameter of said calf-zone, said lower zone being knitted wholly of said plating yarn, said plating yarn being knit in said calf-zone under greater tension than said elastic yarn.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,620,160 

